Lessons from Love-Locks: The archaeology of a contemporary assemblage

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Journal of Material Culture, November 2017, published by SAGE Publishing, All rights reserved.Loss of context is a challenge, if not the bane, of the ritual archaeologist’s craft. Those who research ritual frequently encounter difficulties in the interpretation of its often tantalisingly incomplete material record. Careful analysis of material remains may afford us glimpses into past ritual activity, but our often vast chronological separation from the ritual practitioners themselves prevent us from seeing the whole picture. The archaeologist engaging with structured deposits, for instance, is often forced to study ritual assemblages post-accumulation. Many nuances of its formation, therefore, may be lost in interpretation. This paper considers what insights an archaeologist could gain into the place, people, pace, and purpose of deposition by recording an accumulation of structured deposits during its formation, rather than after. To answer this, the paper will focus on a contemporary depositional practice: the love-lock. This custom involves the inscribing of names/initials onto a padlock, its attachment to a bridge or other public structure, and the deposition of the corresponding key into the water below; a ritual often enacted by a couple as a statement of their romantic commitment. Drawing on empirical data from a three-year diachronic site-specific investigation into a love-lock bridge in Manchester, UK, the author demonstrates the value of contemporary archaeology in engaging with the often enigmatic material culture of ritual accumulations.Peer reviewe

The 600 yr eruptive history of Villarrica Volcano (Chile) revealed by annually laminated lake sediments

Lake sediments contain valuable information about past volcanic and seismic events that have affected the lake catchment, and they provide unique records of the recurrence interval and magnitude of such events. This study uses a multilake and multiproxy analytical approach to obtain reliable and high-resolution records of past natural catastrophes from similar to 600-yr-old annually laminated (varved) lake sediment sequences extracted from two lakes, Villarrica and Calafquen, in the volcanically and seismically active Chilean Lake District. Using a combination of micro-X-ray fluorescence (mu XRF) scanning, microfacies analysis, grain-size analysis, color analysis, and magnetic-susceptibility measurements, we detect and characterize four different types of event deposits (lacustrine turbidites, tephra-fall layers, runoff cryptotephras, and lahar deposits) and produce a revised eruption record for Villarrica Volcano, which is unprecedented in its continuity and temporal resolution. Glass geochemistry and mineralogy also reveal deposits of eruptions from the more remote Carran-Los Venados volcanic complex, Quetrupillan Volcano, and the Huanquihue Group in the studied lake sediments. Time-series analysis shows 112 eruptions with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) >= 2 from Villarrica Volcano in the last similar to 600 yr, of which at least 22 also produced lahars. This significantly expands our knowledge of the eruptive frequency of the volcano in this time window, compared to the previously known eruptive history from historical records. The last VEI >= 2 eruption of Villarrica Volcano occurred in 1991. Based on the last similar to 500 yr, for which we have a complete record from both lakes, we estimate the probability of the occurrence of future eruptions from Villarrica Volcano and statistically demonstrate that the probability of a 22 yr repose period (anno 2013) without VEI >= 2 eruptions is <= 1.7%. This new perspective on the recurrence interval of eruptions and historical lahar activity will help improve volcanic hazard assessments for this rapidly expanding tourist region, and it highlights how lake records can be used to significantly improve historical eruption records in areas that were previously uninhabited

Oneindig landschap? Onderzoek en erfgoed van grafheuvellandschappen

Economies of DestructionEuropean Prehistor

Exploring Late Bronze Age systems of bronzework production in Switzerland through Network Science

YesMany hundreds of Bronze Age bronze artefacts are known from excavations in Switzerland, yet the interpretation of production networks from the object find locations remain problematic. It is proposed that the decorative elements used on items, such as ring-jewellery, can be used as elements to assist in the identification of artisanal traditions and ‘schools’, and also regional or community preference and selection of specific designs. Combining the analysis of over 1700 items of ring-jewellery from Switzerland with approaches from network science has facilitated the identification of regional clustering of design elements, comparable with cultural typologies in the area. It is also possible to identify potential instances of cultural differentiation through decoration within the broader regional cultural traditions. The study highlights important facets of bronzework production in the region of Switzerland, while also demonstrating future potential directions which could build upon the European wide dataset of prehistoric bronzework.Primary research conducted under previous funding at University of Basel, Switzerland – SNF gran

Investigation of the stoichiometry of MBE-grown Fe3O4 layers by magneto-optical Kerr spectroscopy

The polar Kerr spectra between 0.7 and 4.0 eV of single-crystalline layers of Fe3O4 grownepitaxially on MgAl2O4, SrTiO3 and MgO (100) substrates by meansof oxidic molecular beam epitaxy are compared to the spectrum of a bulk synthetic single crystal of magnetite to asses the stoichiometry of the layers. Model calculations of the magneto-optical spectra of thin layers are used to explain the differences between the spectra of bulk Fe3O 4and thin layers of Fe3O4. The observed differences are attributed to interference effects and oxidation of the surface of the thin layers. The results are compared to magnetisation and Verwey transition data

Surface-wave imaging of the weakly-extended Malawi Rift from ambient-noise and teleseismic Rayleigh waves from onshore and lake-bottom seismometers

Located at the southernmost sector of the Western Branch of the East African Rift System, the Malawi Rift exemplifies an active, magma-poor, weakly extended continental rift. To investigate the controls on rifting, we image crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath the region using ambient-noise and teleseismic Rayleigh-wave phase velocities between 9 and 100 s period. Our study includes six lake-bottom seismometers located in Lake Malawi (Nyasa), the first time seismometers have been deployed in any of the African rift lakes. Noise-levels in the lake are lower than that of shallow oceanic environments and allow successful application of compliance corrections and instrument orientation determination. Resulting phase-velocity maps reveal slow velocities primarily confined to Lake Malawi at short periods (T 25 s) a prominent low-velocity anomaly exists beneath the Rungwe Volcanic Province at the northern terminus of the rift basin. Estimates of phase-velocity sensitivity indicates these low velocities occur within the lithospheric mantle and potentially uppermost asthenosphere, suggesting that mantle processes may control the association of volcanic centers and the localization of magmatism. Beneath the main portion of the Malawi Rift, a modest reduction in velocity is also observed at periods sensitive to the crust and upper mantle, but these velocities are much higher than those observed beneath Rungwe

A Bronze Age Round Barrow Cemetery, Pit Alignments, Iron Age Burials, Iron Age Copper Working, and Later Activity at Four Crosses, Llandysilio, Powys.

Excavation undertaken at the Upper Severn valley round barrow cemetery at Four Crosses, Llandysilio between 2004 and 2006 has increased the known barrows and ring-ditches to some 26 monuments, and revealed additional burials. Based on limited dating evidence, and the data from earlier excavations, the majority of the barrows are thought to be constructed in the Bronze Age. The barrows are part of a larger linear cemetery and the landscape setting and wider significance of this linear barrow cemetery are explored within this report. Dating suggests two barrows were later, Iron Age additions. The excavation also investigated Iron Age and undated pit alignments, Middle Iron Age copper working and a small Romano-British inhumation cemetery and field systems. Much of this evidence reflects the continuing importance of the site for ritual and funerary activity

The Tempo of Bronze Age Barrow Use: Modeling the Ebb and Flow in Monumental Funerary Landscapes

The thousands of Bronze Age burial mounds of northwestern Europe often have complex histories, with multiple construction phases and secondary burials added to these mounds. It can be difficult to understand the dynamic nature of these events and the ebb and flow of activities in these monumental funerary landscapes. This article presents chronological models of five Bronze Age barrows from two sites. A total of 41 radiocarbon-dated cremation burials were fitted into several chronological sequences. The results from the chronological models at both sites suggest that the creation of a burial mound was just one event within a much longer funerary history. For both sites, there are indications that the deceased were buried in flat graves decades and sometimes more than a century prior to any monument construction. Once in place, the barrows were then used as a repository for the dead for decades afterwards. At the same time, a comparison of the models suggests that funerary events at both sites were punctuated. At one site, several barrows were in use simultaneously, at the other, barrows seem to be each other's successor. The models provide evidence for both protracted histories as well as punctuated events.</jats:p

Fluidal pyroclasts reveal the intensity of peralkaline rhyolite pumice cone eruptions

This work is a contribution to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded RiftVolc project (NE/L013932/1, Rift volcanism: past, present and future) through which several of the authors are supported. In addition, Clarke was funded by a NERC doctoral training partnership grant (NE/L002558/1).Peralkaline rhyolites are medium to low viscosity, volatile-rich magmas typically associated with rift zones and extensional settings. The dynamics of peralkaline rhyolite eruptions remain elusive with no direct observations recorded, significantly hindering the assessment of hazard and risk. Here we describe uniquely-preserved, fluidal-shaped pyroclasts found within pumice cone deposits at Aluto, a peralkaline rhyolite caldera in the Main Ethiopian Rift. We use a combination of field-observations, geochemistry, X-ray computed microtomography (XCT) and thermal-modelling to investigate how these pyroclasts are formed. We find that they deform during flight and, depending on size, quench prior to deposition or continue to inflate then quench in-situ. These findings reveal important characteristics of the eruptions that gave rise to them: that despite the relatively low viscosity of these magmas, and similarities to basaltic scoria-cone deposits, moderate to intense, unstable, eruption columns are developed; meaning that such eruptions can generate extensive tephra-fall and pyroclastic density currents.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe